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6th
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Jimmie Johnson broke the Martinsville track record winning his 30th Sprint cup pole and third at the track nicknamed the Paperclip.
“That's the icing on the cake,” said the five-time Sprint Cup champion.
“That makes the day even better yet. Track records are hard to come by, so I'm very proud of that and happy to have that. My first run out, we were in q-trim (qualifying trim) and we made two or three laps and we just knew right away that we would have a great shot at it today.”
Driving a Chevrolet SS, Johnson turned a 98.4-mph (19.244 seconds) as five additional drivers beat the record on a cooling track surface.
Australia's Marcos Ambrose who drove a Ford Fusion at 98.364 mph, .007 seconds slower than Johnson, will start alongside the pole winner.
Brian Vickers qualified third, followed by Joey Logano, Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon.
Looking for his eighth win at the half-mile oval, Johnson wanted really badly to pick his pit stall. So Friday's first job was getting that pole.
“At that point, I just needed to do my job and not mess up. So I'm very proud of that. It's very easy to do at this race track, especially once practice ends. You'll sit and have lunch and relax for a couple of hours and then have to do it all over again. It was a great day across the board for the team, driver, the engine, the car, and everything. We got the car dialed-in.”
Johnson was adamant about the importance of the pole.
“That pit stall. If you get behind or if you're off-strategy or if you have any reason that leads you to lose track position, that pit stall is worth three to five positions on the race track. It's a big, big advantage from that perspective.”
“That's the icing on the cake,” said the five-time Sprint Cup champion.
“That makes the day even better yet. Track records are hard to come by, so I'm very proud of that and happy to have that. My first run out, we were in q-trim (qualifying trim) and we made two or three laps and we just knew right away that we would have a great shot at it today.”
Driving a Chevrolet SS, Johnson turned a 98.4-mph (19.244 seconds) as five additional drivers beat the record on a cooling track surface.
Australia's Marcos Ambrose who drove a Ford Fusion at 98.364 mph, .007 seconds slower than Johnson, will start alongside the pole winner.
Brian Vickers qualified third, followed by Joey Logano, Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon.
Looking for his eighth win at the half-mile oval, Johnson wanted really badly to pick his pit stall. So Friday's first job was getting that pole.
“At that point, I just needed to do my job and not mess up. So I'm very proud of that. It's very easy to do at this race track, especially once practice ends. You'll sit and have lunch and relax for a couple of hours and then have to do it all over again. It was a great day across the board for the team, driver, the engine, the car, and everything. We got the car dialed-in.”
Johnson was adamant about the importance of the pole.
“That pit stall. If you get behind or if you're off-strategy or if you have any reason that leads you to lose track position, that pit stall is worth three to five positions on the race track. It's a big, big advantage from that perspective.”